NFL Players’ Shocking ‘Performance Enhancer’

Chicago wideout Brandon Marshall spoke candidly recently about what some players use to gain an edge on the field.

Chicago Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall isn't one to shy away from talking to reporters and in doing so on Wednesday, he let slip that some players take the excitement of gameday to a whole new disturbing level.

When asked about the sudden rash of Adderall-related suspensions in the league this season, Marshall responded by saying that he has heard of quite a few different kinds of methods players have used to get an edge. The most shocking of them is that some prefer to use a certain little blue pill to get, um, up for the game.

"I don't know too much about Adderall," Marshall responded. "I know guys, it is such a competitive league, guys try anything just to get that edge. I'm fortunate enough to be blessed with size and some smarts to give me my edge. But some guys, they'll do whatever they can to get an edge. I've heard of some crazy stories. I've heard (of) guys using like Viagra, seriously. Because the blood is supposedly thin, some crazy stuff. So, you know, it's kind of scary with some of these chemicals that are in some of these things, so you have to be careful."

Yes, Marshall did say that players used Viagra. And yes, he also said in the same statement that he is blessed with size. Whether these two things have a common denominator we will not explore but what we want to know is if he is actually serious about his statement.

According to a New York Times report done in 2008, Marshall is correct in his revelation that Viagra has been looked at as a performance enhancer outside of the bedroom and on the field.

The study in question was done by the World Anti-Doping Agency where the drug was tested by Marywood University. The university administered the drug to several members of the schools lacrosse team to determine possible athletic benefits. While the premise of the test was that the drugs ability to increase blood flow to certain parts of the body would also apply to muscles used on a football field, the results weren't sufficient enough to warrant adding the drug to the banned substance list.

Players being who they are, this hasn't stopped some of them from apparently turning to the pill that has saved countless marriages for a little extra edge.